"Sometimes reality exceeds all imagination," was how Reb
Dovid Zaritsky z'l, summed up the existence of Lucerne
Yeshiva almost forty years ago. Since then the dream has
continued to flower, with thousands of talmidim
passing through the yeshiva.

For the fiftieth anniversary celebrations on the fourteenth
of Marcheshvon 5763, many of them converged on the yeshiva,
from all corners of the globe. Approximately one hundred
alumni arrived several days earlier, and spent Shabbos
parshas Lech Lecho together with HaRav Yitzchok Dovid
Koppelman, rosh yeshiva of Lucerne. It was a time for
reminiscing and recalling stories, such as that of the
lottery ticket that made the purchase of the yeshiva's
building possible and the famous episode of Yossele
Shuchmacher, which had such a profound effect on the
yeshiva.

There are almost four thousand names on Lucerne Yeshiva's
alumni list (in fact, approximately five thousand
talmidim have learned there). The fiftieth anniversary
was nonetheless celebrated relatively quietly, so as to avoid
any unnecessary disruption in the yeshiva's timetable. Some
of the alumni had not seen the yeshiva and its staff for
several decades and their reunion generated much excitement
and emotion.

Before the beginning of the celebratory gathering, an elderly
talmid who lives in Bnei Brak approached the Rosh
Yeshiva, who at first did not recognize him, because he had
left the yeshiva beardless and now had a white beard.

When the talmid introduced himself, HaRav Koppelman
burst into tears. They had not seen or spoken to each other
for forty-eight years! The Rosh Yeshiva remembered him well
as an energetic young fellow who had been appointed as
holtz klapper, with responsibility to chop the wood
needed for heating the mikveh. "If I wouldn't have
seen you, I wouldn't have believed it", the Rosh Yeshiva told
him emotionally.

Over here was a talmid who had come from Brazil, over
there, one from Australia, and others from Los Angeles,
Kiryat Sefer, Antwerp, Monsey, Paris and every other place
where Jews live. Torah disseminators, rabbonim and
dayonim alongside businessmen and professionals, they
spoke a babble of different languages, English, Yiddish,
Ivrit, Flemish, French and Swiss-Deutsch, forming a veritable
mosaic of Klal Yisroel. "The ingathering of the exiles
will look exactly like this," was how one alumnus summed up
the event, "a Yid of yekkish extraction, next
to an Algerian, a chossid, a Hungarian and a Litvak .
. . "

A Place for Torah to Flourish

The yeshiva's establishment in Switzerland fifty years ago
provided a powerful boost to the morale of the local Torah
community. Reb Dovid Zaritsky wrote, "In the past, this was
not even something that could be dreamed of. There was hardly
a single Jew in the entire city of Lucerne who might dream of
opening a yeshiva there, let alone transforming the place
into a Torah center. The Chofetz Chaim made a famous comment
on the words of the tanna, Rabbi Yosi ben Kismo
(Ovos), who said that even if he were to be given
millions of golden dinarim, he would only consent to
live in a mokom Torah. [The Chofetz Chaim noted that]
we see from here that it is impossible to create a mokom
Torah with money alone.

"In order to transform an ordinary community into a Torah
center, it is vital that there be an affinity for the ideals
of the yeshiva in the place's atmosphere. The aspirations,
both individual and collective, of the inhabitants must all
focus on Torah. This was the wonder that took place before
our very eyes in beautiful Lucerne, right in the heart of
Switzerland. For many generations, nobody imagined that even
a whiff of the particular ambience that a mokom Torah
needs -- without which its maintenance is unthinkable -- was
to be found there. Yet it is a fact that in our times,
Lucerne has become a sterling example of a mokom
Torah, in the fullest sense of the term."

Not only is it a mokom Torah -- the yeshiva is highly
disciplined and insists on strict adherence to its timetable.
One talmid succinctly summed up the spirit that
permeates the yeshiva with the sentence, "To waste a single
minute is the worst thing in the world."

A Unique and Uplifting Weekend

Although the jubilee celebrations began with Shabbos, the
yeshiva requested that alumni not arrive before one o'clock
on Friday, so as not to disturb the morning seder. It
is amazing to see the thought and effort that went into
ensuring that the learning sedorim would not be
disturbed. Visitors were housed in rooms outside the yeshiva
dormitory in addition to which, twenty hotel rooms were
taken. On motzei Shabbos, a central melave
malkah was held that ended very late -- present
talmidim were absent however, in consideration of the
following morning's tefillah and sedorim.

The main event began on the evening of Sunday, the fourteenth
of Marcheshvon. HaRav Koppelman delivered a profound
shmuess on the essence of Yovel and its connection to
the trait of gratitude. Those among the alumni who have the
means, set a fine example of expressing this trait through
generous pledges to the yeshiva. Fifteen thousand dollars,
for example, were pledged for the honor of leading bircas
hamozone.

The keynote speaker was HaRav Avrohom Gurwicz, the Gateshead
rosh yeshiva, who held the audience rapt for the
duration of his talk. Rav Mendel Shafran, an alumnus, also
spoke, as did Rav Shlesinger of Monsey, who represented the
talmidim. A video presentation chronicled the
yeshiva's fifty years and another alumnus, Rabbi Michoel
Streicher, delighted the gathering with his singing.

To commemorate the celebration, an impressive Jubilee Volume
was prepared. The first section contains divrei Torah
from the yeshiva's past and ylct'a present rabbonim.
It is followed by greetings from supporters and well-wishers.
After this there is a history of the yeshiva, written by the
well- known chareidi author Rabbi Aharon Surasky, from which
the following outline of the yeshiva's beginnings is
drawn.

Breaking the Soil

On a visit to Switzerland in 5712 (1952), HaRav Yechezkel
Sarna zt'l, broached the subject of establishing a
yeshiva to a group of "purely motivated communal workers." He
would not let the matter rest until a decision had been taken
to open a yeshiva in the beautiful town of Lugano. With HaRav
Sarna's guidance, HaRav Moshe Soloveitchik zt'l was
appointed as rosh yeshiva. The yeshiva's founders set a three-
fold aim for the new institution:

-- to persuade parents to send their sons to yeshiva,
instead of to a gymnasium

-- to train graduates of state high schools in the study of
gemora according to the customary approach of the
Lithuanian yeshivos, raising the level of their understanding
to the point where they could experience the pleasure of
learning gemora

-- to improve the talmid's image, inculcating a new
respect for the yeshiva student on the part of the
surrounding community, at a time when many viewed him simply
as "a benk kvetcher (a bench warmer)."

The first group of talmidim, most of whom were Swiss
born, gathered initially in a rented apartment on the
outskirts of Lugano. In Iyar 5712, the yeshiva moved to
Lucerne. The group that was working on the yeshiva's behalf,
headed by Reb Wolff Rosengarten z'l, acquired a
beautiful building that was known as "Bromberg's Castle"
located at 20 Bromberg Strasse.

The money for the purchase was raised in a fascinating way. A
member of the group, Reb Yaakov Goldman z'l, bought a
raffle ticket and promised that if he won the first prize, he
would donate all the money towards the purchase of a building
for the yeshiva. He did win first prize and he kept his word.
The Building Fund instantly grew by fifty thousand Swiss
francs, enough for the major part of the costs.

The Swiss immigration authorities were continually making
problems for the Rosh Yeshiva, due to his standing as a
Polish refugee. Reb Moshe managed to continue leading the
yeshiva, despite his having to leave the country
occasionally, due to his "problematic" status. He had a
special touch with the bochurim, most of whom came
from homes where an extended stay in yeshiva was regarded
very negatively. He guided and directed each boy lovingly and
in a pleasant manner, according to his individual character
and needs. Many are the circulating stories that illustrate
Reb Moshe's tremendous patience.

With the growth of the student body, the Bromberg Castle
became crowded. Shiurim had to be delivered in the
dormitories. The noise of Torah study disturbed the gentile
neighbors, who complained to the police regularly, with the
result that the windows had to be kept closed at all times.
This made the atmosphere inside extremely stuffy and
uncomfortable.

As compensation, the yeshiva staff would take the
talmidim on occasional trips in the peaceful
countryside around the town. With his keen perception and
inventiveness, Reb Moshe managed to turn these trips into
highly useful educational experiences.

In Search of a Safe Haven

Around that time, a young Jewish boy with pure, innocent
eyes, arrived in the yeshiva. Despite his young age -- he was
all of nine years old -- he managed to find himself a niche
in the yeshiva. His guilelessness captured the students'
hearts and they all pitied the little homeless orphan. One
fine day however, the child disappeared as suddenly as he had
arrived and he was not seen in the yeshiva again.

The next stage in the drama took place at some later date,
when F.B.I. agents burst into a Jewish home on Penn Street,
Williamsburg, New York, one motzei Shabbos. A few
minutes later, they left the house, bearing their prize --
the famous Yossele Shuchmacher. The mistress of the house
somehow managed to stuff a sefer Tehillim into the
child's hand and tell him, "Dos vet dir hitten! (This will
protect you!)" The F.B.I. had actually known where
Yossele was before Shabbos ended but they had received orders
not to shatter the calm of the day in the Orthodox Jewish
neighborhood.

When the Israeli Mossad completed its investigation and had
discovered that the child had spent time in the Lucerne
yeshiva, the Swiss authorities were apprised of the
information. They took a very serious view of the Rosh
Yeshiva's responsibility and Reb Moshe was ordered to leave
Lucerne for good.

He moved to Zurich, where his reputation and influence
steadily grew and he eventually became one of the foremost
leaders of the generation. At the time however, the slander
against the Rosh Yeshiva and his decree of banishment took
the yeshiva completely by surprise. A Torah figure of senior
standing was urgently needed to step into the vacant place of
leadership.

From Grodno to Siberia to Lucerne

The man of the hour was found in the person of HaRav Yitzchok
Dovid Koppelman, one of the foremost talmidim of HaRav
Shimon Shkop zt'l, who managed to rescue Reb Shimon's
chiddushim from oblivion during the war. Although we
were unable to hear HaRav Koppelman's own memories of his
great teacher, two of his talmidim shared anecdotes
that they had heard from him about Reb Shimon.

HaRav Dov Gartner of Yeshivas Shaarei Yosher, New York,
related that during the war, HaRav Koppelman reached the
Soviet Union. When he attempted to smuggle Reb Shimon's
manuscripts out of the country, they were discovered by
Russian soldiers, with the result that HaRav Koppelman was
exiled to Siberia. "I heard from . . . the Rosh Yeshiva . .
. " said HaRav Gartner, "that despite the crushing labor that
he was forced to do (working in a coal mine!), he still felt
greater freedom than that enjoyed by an American
businessman."

He explained that, "In Siberia, we were exploited to the
highest degree possible but we still had a few free minutes
each day. A businessman in America doesn't even have that. He
is constantly harried and preoccupied with his business . .
." On another occasion I heard him say that Reb Shimon's
Principles of Migo are a kleinekeit (a miniscule
fraction) of what Reb Shimon said."

HaRav Yonah Rechnitzer, a talmid of HaRav Koppelman's
from Lucerne, told us, "He was once staying with Reb Shimon
in the resort town of Otvotck while members of the Gerrer
Rebbe's family were also staying there. One day, they
approached Reb Shimon with a somewhat unorthodox request: `We
would like to have shirayim [leftovers; the
holiness of those from a great man's table is thought by some
to be akin to that of the edible portion of a sacrifice] from
your meal." Reb Shimon smiled at this wish and he distributed
shirayim.

"Then he said to HaRav Koppelman, `If it makes them happy,
why should it bother me?' "

Prior to taking up the position in Lucerne, HaRav Koppelman
had headed the Kappeln Yeshiva in Belgium, and Yeshivas
Shaarei Yosher of New York. Alumni of both these yeshivos
also participated in the Lucerne Yeshiva's jubilee event.

The Search for Larger Premises

When the Ponovezher Rov zt'l paid a visit to Lucerne,
he examined the walls of the beis hamedrash and
exclaimed with feeling, "Mir darf shtupen die vent!
(The walls need to be pushed outwards -- i.e. the yeshiva
needs larger premises)." HaRav Koppelman encouraged the
yeshiva's committee to undertake this project. After a
lengthy search, they succeeded in finding a large site on the
side of a mountain that rises from the beautiful garden
suburb of Kriens on the outskirts of Lucerne, far from the
tumult of the city center.

Rav Wolff Rosengarten described some of the difficulties that
were involved: "We immediately took a liking to this site.
However, the sum that we needed to find in order to purchase
it in the space of a few weeks was greater than we could
manage and no progress was made. At that time, I received a
visit from a childhood friend who lived in Africa. When he
heard the story, he was very keen on us buying the site. When
we showed it to him, he was extremely enthusiastic and he
promised us the loan of a large sum, interest free, for
several years. We went ahead with the deal on the basis of
this promise. Immediately afterwards, we discovered that we
would not be able to receive the money from Africa due to the
currency regulations there. If I relate everything that
happened to us then, until we saw the building completed
boruch Hashem -- even if I talk until tomorrow -- I
wouldn't finish."

On Sunday the nineteenth of Marcheshvon 5726 (1965), the
foundation laying for the new yeshiva building was held in
Kriens. Crowds attended, despite the season's bitter cold.
The climax of that event was the address that a very excited
HaRav Koppelman delivered. When mentioning the destruction
that had befallen our nation twenty years earlier, his voice
choked with tears and many of those present wept with him.

Two years later, on the sixth of Teves 5728 (1967), the
dedication of the present premises, which cost more than
three million Swiss francs to build, was held. HaRav Yitzchok
Silberstein, who served as a maggid shiur in Lucerne,
noted however that, "the . . . Yeshiva was established
neither with money, nor with buildings but through the power
of the burning love of Torah and those who study it, of a
handful of special, noble souls, like Reb Wolff Rosengarten
z'l and his friends, as the posuk says in
Shir Hashirim (3:10), `He made its pillars of silver,
its couch of gold . . . its interior was paved with love, of
the daughters of Yerushalayim.' "

The dedication ceremony was attended by representatives of
the authorities, members of the government, correspondents of
the major newspapers and the media, who noted that "no
educational institution in the entire canton of Lucerne is
built as magnificently as the yeshiva." Immediately following
the dedication, the yeshiva smoothly returned to its regular
schedule.

Thought and Planning

Order and discipline are among the fundamentals of the
yeshiva's approach. For example, during rest hours
bochurim are not allowed to enter any dormitory room
other than their own. In his shmuessen, the Rosh
Yeshiva addresses every aspect of conduct and bearing of a
ben Torah. Once, in mid flow, HaRav Koppelman took a
few bars of airline soap from his pocket and cried, "How did
these soaps find their way to the yeshiva? Who permitted
stealing from a gentile? Aren't you concerned about the
profanation of Hashem's Name? The airline companies have
noticed that on the Tel Aviv-Zurich route, all the cupboards
get emptied out!"

An article that was once published about the yeshiva noted,
interestingly, that, "In Jewish history, there have been
small communities that have won eternal praise thanks to the
holy yeshivos that resided in this or that townlet. Sometimes
the [reputation of a] name is inversely proportional to the
size of the town and the number of Jews residing there."

Lucerne certainly belongs to this category. The local
community is minute, lacking even a minyan for prayer.
In order to have a minyan, two avreichim from
Zurich were invited to move permanently to Lucerne. During
the day they learn in the yeshiva and for the
tefillos, they go to the beis haknesses. They
are the only two avreichim that learn in the
yeshiva.

Another fascinating aspect of the yeshiva is the dovetailing
of the different approaches of bochurim from
misnagdische and chasidische homes. The
learning follows the approach of Reb Shimon's beis
hamedrash: penetrating analysis of the underlying
concepts and precise definitions that explain away
difficulties without there being a need to resort to
contrived solutions. At the same time, the yeshiva is also
richly imbued with chasidische overtones and its
approach to serving Hashem. The tefillos on Shabbos
have a chasidische ambience, with enchanting
melodies.

The yeshiva is particularly insistent that bochurim
not change their family customs. A misnagdische
talmid who starts wearing a gartel, or a
chossid who cuts his long payos short, will
earn himself a reprimand.